Science & Technology

St. Louis floodplains are in danger of contamination from radioactive wastes dumped years ago at a landfill in North St. Louis County, according to Robert Criss, Ph.D. professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have peered deep into the eye of the chicken and found a masterpiece of biological design. They plan follow-up studies that could eventually provide helpful insights for scientists seeking to use stem cell and other techniques to treat the nearly 200 genetic disorders that can cause various forms of blindness.

Christopher I. Byrnes, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis from 1991 to 2006 and the Edward H. and Florence G. Skinner Professor Emeritus of Systems Science and Mathematics, died unexpectedly last week in Stockholm, Sweden. He was 60.

Ralph Quatrano, immediate past dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences, has been named dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis.

WUSTL researchers have shed light on one of the most important events in earth history, the conquest of land by plants. No would-be colonizer could have survived without the ability to deal with dehydration, a major threat for organisms accustomed to soaking in water. Clues to how the first land plants managed to avoid drying out are provided by the drought-tolerant moss Physcomitrella patens.

The Eiffel Tower and other world-class icons viewable online via webcams are getting a new three-dimensional look thanks to an innovative, browser-based application recently unveiled by Austin Abrams, a Ph.D. candidate at Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a five-year, $13 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve efforts to eliminate two parasitic diseases, elephantiasis and river blindness. The award is believed to be the largest global health grant so far to the University.

Younan Xia, Ph.D., the James M. McKelvey Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been ranked as one of the top 10 chemists in the world by The Times Higher Education, a magazine based in London. 

Four WUSTL faculty have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. The highest honor awarded by AAAS, the rank of fellow is bestowed upon members by their peers in recognition of scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University have received from Alvin J. Siteman a commitment for an endowment that will provide at least $1 million annually to advance pioneering investigations into cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The new endowment establishes the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Research Fund, which will provide support for transformational scientific contributions that address the challenges associated with overcoming cancer.